Cameron wants to make it clear that he did not go into the festival to find a dragon mate.
Germany is supposed to be an escape. With a new mechanical engineering degree, a new job looming, and a whole life planned out that isn’t his, Germany seems like the best place to find himself.
So how does he end up discovering his lost magic heritage, running from bad guys with a secret agenda, and being adopted by the not-so-extinct Fire Dragon clan?
Cameron blames tall, dark, and sexy Alric, king of the Fire dragons. His fated mate. Because of course he is, and mates are meant to take the blame, right?
It may take a hot second, but as Cameron learns more about the scarred Alric and the life he’s landed in, Cameron realizes that perhaps this is where he’s meant to be, magic and mates and kidnapping and all.
Turns out coming to Germany wasn’t an escape but his awakening.
Title: Origin (Spells n’ Scales, Book 1)
Author: AJ Sherwood & Jocelynn Drake
Amazon – Kindle Unlimited
Goodreads
Alric’s body burned. Every seductive pass of Cameron’s amazing hands left Alric aching to pull Cameron closer. He wanted to claim his mouth in a deep, drugging kiss that would finally wipe away his knowing little smirk. The man massaging tense muscles was well aware of how he was driving Alric crazy. It was all Alric could do to hold back the moan rising in his throat.
He was fairly certain all the blood in his body had flooded south to his throbbing cock pressed against the front of his slacks, demanding to have a turn with Cameron’s magical hands and that wonderfully slick oil.
To have those long, nimble fingers wrap around him and—
No! No thinking about that.
Clenching his teeth, Alric fisted his right hand at his side, inwardly praying Cameron didn’t notice the fine trembling of his muscles as he struggled to get control of himself.
Of course, that wasn’t possible.
Cameron chuckled softly, his warm breath brushing against Alric’s bare neck. Goosebumps broke out across his flesh, and Alric sucked in a breath through his teeth.
“Relax,” Cameron murmured. “The point of the massage is to help you relax. Make you feel good.”
“Would you be able to relax if someone was doing this to you?” Alric asked, his voice little more than a harsh growl.
Cameron hummed as if he was giving it some thought. He bent, dipping his fingers into the oil again. Moving behind Alric, he cradled his neck on either side, gently massaging muscles there before sweeping down across his chest. Alric’s nipples hardened to painful points, and there was no stopping the quick breath he sharply sucked in. This wasn’t his fault. He couldn’t stop how his body reacted to each amazing caress. He could only control what he did about it. And right now, he was going to sit there and take it because it made Cameron happy.
Alright, fine, he might be enjoying it too. A little.
“Just anyone massaging me?” Cameron asked.
Rage scorched through Alric’s body, and he glared at the wall in front of him at the thought of anyone putting their hands on Cameron. No one should touch him. Just Alric. Only Alric. Scheiße, and that was his dragon flaring up with possessiveness. Alric shoved it back down mentally.
“Whoa! You just got really warm,” Cameron gasped, his hands leaving Alric for a moment. “Are you okay?”
Alric nearly groaned at himself. “Yes. Of course. Hot flash,” he muttered and then rolled his eyes at himself. A fucking hot flash? Wonderful. That was really sexy. Now he was a menopausal woman.
I’ve only read one other book that had dragon shifters and it definitely wasn’t my favorite. But since Jocelynn Drake is one of the authors (I’ve never read AJ Sherwood, so no opinion yet) I figured why not?
Looking at it from completely a fantasy aspect- it was a fun book. The world building was pretty excellent and I love how Dragon shifters and mages (doers of magic) need each other for different reasons. I also REALLY loved that the one main character is Asian. I don’t think Asian people get nearly enough representation in books. Not only is he a main character, he seems to be fairly powerful, is mated with the dragon king and his twin sister and grandmother are also mages. Pretty cool.
Two things really bugged me. First- dragon shifters need mages in order to procreate. Dragon shifters are all pansexual because they don’t know what gender their fated mate will be. Ok, so like in this story we have a male dragon king and a male mage that are fated mates. They talk about having a family together. HOW DOES THAT HAPPEN? Seems kind of integral to the story, in my opinion.
Next is the clan of mages that are out for revenge. Meaning kill all of the dragon shifters. Ok. But I thought they needed each other? Mages get the power for their magic from dragons. So how are they able to do powerful magic without dragons?
I know, I know, I should let these things go. Maybe they will be addressed in book 2. But seriously, Cameron, the mage fated to mate with Alric, king of the dragon shifters, should be questioning these things! He didn’t even know he was a mage. And then they are talking about having a family. And this formerly human gay guy doesn’t say “Whoa, whoa, whoa… who here is getting pregnant and how?” Because I would TOTALLY ask that question.
Other than those two fairly glaring things, the story as a whole was well done. The history, even the citizens having a dragon festival unbeknownst to them that dragons are real.
Ok, I do have more questions, but they are minor.
I do want to read book 2 as I am invested now in their story, having the dragons find more mages, how they are going to find and fight the evil mages, etc.
3.5 pieces of eye candy
I loved the excerpt I read on this so much that I had to read it, even though I hadn’t read anything on dragon shifters previously.
I absolutely loved the two MC’s. Cameron was fun, and lighthearted, yet so smart and willing to do whatever needed to be done in the moment. Meanwhile Alric was very old school, taking his responsibilities very much to heart, and guarding his heart due to his injuries. They complimented each other very well. The side characters were great as well. Loved Cameron’s sister and grandmother, and Ravi, of course.
I’m definitely with Erin on one of the things that I felt needed to be addressed further. There was talk throughout the book about how dragons needed mages in order to have children, but never HOW. Is it surrogate, does someone suddenly develop the parts to do that. And I feel like if they are going to talk about having children, which they did, right before their mating ritual, then it is kind of imperative to let the person who has no idea what the process is, know so that he can step back and maybe decide.
Overall, this is a fun start to the series. It made me laugh out loud several times, and tear up a little. And I’d definitely like to see more of the Fire Dragon Clan, as well as see how they deal with their enemies.
3.5 pieces of eye candy
AJ Sherwood believes in happily ever afters, magic, dragons, good men, and dark chocolate. She’s often dreams at night of delectable men doing sexy things with each other. In between writing multiple books (often at the same time) she pets her cats, plays with her dogs, and attempts insane things like aerial yoga.
She currently resides in Tennessee with aforementioned cats, dogs, and her editor/best friend/sister/partner in crime.
Connect with AJ: https://www.ajsherwood.com/
New York Times Bestselling author Jocelynn Drake loves a good story, whether she is reading it or writing one of her own. Over the years, her stories have allowed her to explore space, talk to dragons, dodge bullets with assassins, hang with vampires, and fall in love again and again.
This former Kentucky girl has moved up, down, and across the U.S. with her husband. Recently, they’ve settled near the Rockies.
When she is not hammering away at her keyboard or curled up with a book, she can be found cuddling her cat Demona, walking her dog Ace, or playing video games. She loves Bruce Wayne, Ezio Auditore, travel, tattoos, explosions, and fast cars.
She is the author of the urban fantasy series: The Dark Days series and the Asylum Tales. She has just completed a gay romantic suspense series called The Exit Strategy about two assassins falling in love and trying to create a life together. Her newest project returns to her vampire roots with a MM paranormal romance series Lords of Discord.
With Rinda Elliott, she is one half of the Drake & Elliott writing team and has produced such series as Unbreakable Bonds, Ward Security, Pineapple Grove, and Weavers Circle.
With AJ Sherwood, she is journeying into a new MM paranormal romance series called Spells n’ Scales that is set to launch in September 2020.
Connect with Jocelynn: https://jocelynndrake.com/